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Health benefits of growing up in cities have diminished globally

An unprecedented data set of the body measurements of 71 million children and adolescents reveals that, in most countries, growing up in cities no longer results in the height advantage seen in most of the world in the 1990s. However, in much of sub-Saharan Africa, the growth and development advantages of urban living have been amplified.

This is a summary of: NCD Risk Factor Collaboration. Diminishing benefits of urban living for children and adolescents’ growth and development. Nature 615, 874–883 (2023).

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doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-023-00305-9

‘Expert opinion’ and the figure are published under a CC BY 4.0 licence.

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